Bayona to Direct Universal’s Hater

Universal has hired The Orphanage helmer Juan Antonio Bayona to direct Hater, the Glen Mazzara-scripted adaptation of British author David Moody’s thriller novel about an epidemic of violence perpetrated by ordinary people.

Bayona, who will make his English-language debut with Hater, reunites with Guillermo del Toro, who is producing the film with Mark Johnson.

Del Toro produced The Orphanage, which was made in Bayona’s home country of Spain on a modest budget and grossed more than $76 million worldwide.

The film is set in the U.S., and while exteriors will be shot locally when the film gets under way next year, Johnson hopes to shoot the interiors in Spain.